Pottstown School Board OKs elementary redistricting

POTTSTOWN — The school board unanimously approved the new attendance areas for elementary school attendance Monday night.

No one from the public spoke in support or opposition to the change, the first in more than a dozen years.

The change was made necessary by a series of decisions over the previous year that resulted in the pending closure of Edgewood Elementary School, the current renovation project at Barth Elementary School, and the pending renovation and expansion of Lincoln, Franklin and Rupert elementary schools.

Also part of this shift is the moving of all district fifth graders to the middle school.

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Because the change creates a more even spread for the borough’s student population, all schools but Barth are almost entirely walkable, resulting in a cut of more than 50 percent of the district’s $1 million-plus busing budget, Superintendent Jeff Sparagana told the board last week.

Even more money will be saved if the state takes a look at High Street and decides it should no longer be designated a hazardous roadway.

However that creates a “chicken-or-the-egg” conundrum for the school board.

The road was designated hazardous decades ago in order for the district to receive a state subsidy to bus students across.

However, if the district decides as a matter of policy to bus Rupert students who live north of high street to the school, the district would bear the entire cost if PennDOT no longer considers the road hazardous.

“I do think you should think about that,” Business Manager Linda Adams told the board Monday night. “There is no guarantee PennDOT will change the designation.”

Adams added it might be better to wait until PennDOT conducts the “walkable school audits” to determine the safest walking routes to the various schools before asking PennDOT to take another look at High Street’s hazardous road designation.

School board member Polly Weand had worried aloud that the district might end up bearing the full cost of that portion of the busing.

“Are we putting the cart before the horse?” she asked.

“It seems to me we should have looked into this previously,” Weand said, worrying that the money for busing without the subsidy could result in program cuts.

Adams patiently explained to her that with the savings the district would enjoy from not busing in other parts of the district, that particular cost would represent a very small percentage of cost.

About the Author

Evan Brandt has worked for The Mercury since November 1997. His beat includes Pottstown, the surrounding townships and the Pottstown and Pottsgrove school districts, as well as other varied general topics like politics, the environment and education. Reach the author at ebrandt@pottsmerc.com
or follow Evan on Twitter: @PottstownNews.